Something More
by Shining Friendship
Summary: (Post-DOFP) Shortly after Erik and Raven rejoin the X-Men, he and Charles get into an argument over whether their favorite shapeshifter should be called Raven or Mystique when she goes on missions. What's the underlying cause of this fight? (Charles/Raven)


**A/N: **This fic is totally frivolous, but after posting _One Night_, I wanted to write something a little more lighthearted and humorous—with lots of drama thrown into the mix. :) Plus, I was inspired to write the story after watching a funny bit from one of James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender's shared interviews for DOFP.

**James:** In his eyes, like Michael just said, he feels abandoned by Erik and by Raven as well.  
**Michael:** Mystique.  
**James:** Mysti—Raven.  
**Michael:** *whispers* Mystique.  
**James:** She had been Raven a long time. Ooh! Ooh!

Lol! XD

* * *

Sitting behind the desk in his study, Professor Charles Xavier was in the middle of a heated argument with Erik Lehnsherr, who stood across from him.

"Erik, for the millionth time, I am not calling her Mystique."

"With the world we still live in, anonymity is key when facing unknown enemies."

"Doesn't mean we have to call her Mystique during our missions."

"Mystique is the code name she chose. She went by it for over a decade—"

"You encouraged her to do that! You tried to strip Raven of her humanity by persuading her to use that bloody code name!"

"I didn't strip that girl of anything. She wanted to call herself Mystique."

"Why, because it helped her forget about me and the life she had before joining your cause?"

"You'd have to ask her that."

The pacifist intellectual remained silent for a few moments, refusing to look up at his old friend until he could make a reply. "I am not calling her Mystique. Her name is Raven. It always has been and always will be. Your so-called anonymity won't change that. End of story."

Erik pressed his hands against the desk, leaned forward and whispered, "Why don't you just admit what this is really about?"

"What exactly do you think this is about?"

"You don't want to call her Mystique because it reminds you of the time she spent with me."

"Are you somehow implying that I'm possessive of her name?"

"I'm implying that you're possessive of her."

"Oh, don't be ridiculous. You make it sound like I love Raven as more than a sibling."

"From the way I hear it, you spent years in your bathrobe, moping around like some pathetic sap who lost the love of his life."

"You have no right to talk about my pain," the powerful telepath spoke in a dangerously low tone.

"Strike a nerve, did I?" Magneto smiled smugly, standing up straight.

"You manipulated Raven and took her away when I needed her most."

"She left with me because I gave her the two things you never did: love and acceptance of her mutation."

"She's my sister! Of course I loved her! And I did accept her mutation! I was only trying to protect her."

"Protect her? You rejected her! You couldn't stand the sight of her!"

"That's not true. I just—I didn't think it was appropriate for her to be walking around naked."

"It was her natural form! She had every right to be herself!"

"I made a mistake! I—I made a horrible mistake…and it cost me. It cost me dearly."

Calming down, Erik's voice became quiet. "You shouldn't be so hard on yourself. Right or wrong, she knows everything you did for her, you did out of love."

"It wasn't enough, though, was it? She left."

"You really do sound like a sad sap who lost the love of his life."

"Stop saying that. This isn't a Greek tragedy."

"I'm not blind, Charles. I've seen the way you look at her, the way you talk about her. You ache for her."

"I can't—"

"But you do. You wouldn't have gotten up and agreed to help Logan alter the future if you didn't love her."

"Even if I did feel something for Raven, I wouldn't pursue it anyway."

"Why not?"

"She deserves better! She deserves someone who can give her everything she wants."

"And by that you mean…sex?"

"I'm done," the paraplegic retorted before he used the joystick controlling his electric wheelchair to move around the desk.

He headed towards the door, intending to leave his study, when Erik spoke up again.

"Don't make the same mistake twice. She's always loved you as more than a friend and sibling."

Hearing this caused him to pause and the tension in the air to dramatically change.

"Deep down, you must've known that or you wouldn't have taken her leaving as hard as you did."

"Then why couldn't I face the truth until it was too late?"

"Because you didn't want to. You expected Raven to stand by your side and never make a fuss. Instead of appreciating her love and support, you—"

"—took her for granted," Charles finished his thought, circling back around with a wounded expression on his face. "You have no idea how much I missed her, Erik. She was everything to me. When I let her go…it was like I lost the will to live. I drank. I overdosed on the serum Hank created for me. I never left the mansion. But nothing worked. Nothing could ever make me forget about Raven, so I stopped trying and sank deeper into my depression. Figured if a lonely, broken heart wasn't enough to put me out of my misery, the drugs and alcohol would eventually do the trick."

"Have you told her about any of this?"

"No. I never intend to. Besides, she's home now. That's all that matters."

"You're in love with her. You can't keep your feelings hidden from Raven forever. She deserves to know—"

Erik suddenly stopped mid-sentence when he noticed his old friend sense something, another presence nearby. Spotting a shadow from the corner of his eye, he looked across his right shoulder and found Peter outside, his hands and face pressed against the glass of a window, listening in on their discussion with keen interest. "_You!_"

Caught red-handed, the speedster backed up and zipped away from the scene. Less than a second later, he was in the room, standing between the two men.

"What were you doing out there?" they barked in unison.

"Eavesdropping. That blonde chick you guys like so much was, too."

Charles' eyes comically widened in shock.

"Kidding!"

A few moments later, Raven's human form approached the doorway. "What's going on in here?"

"My dad's been trying to get your brother to admit he's been in love with you for years. He spilled his guts. Mission accomplished."

The powerful telepath gaped at the mischievous troublemaker for his directness and Erik gave him a stern look. "I think your cause would be better left unsaid at this point."

"Why? The dude's got nothing to be ashamed of. She's hot!"

His father sighed, rolling his eyes in annoyance. "Anything else you care to add while you're twisting the knife?"

"If they decide to get married, can I go to the wedding?"

Embarrassed beyond repair, Charles covered his face with his hands. "This has got to be the most idiotic, humiliating conversation anyone has ever sat through."

"Perhaps," Magneto replied calmly. "But at least the menace isn't related to you."

"_Leave_," he ordered them with daggers in his eyes. "Remind me to kill both of you later."

"See ya!" Peter sped away in a flash.

Before Erik exited the room, he gave Raven a smile and whispered, "You'll always be Mystique to me."

The shapeshifter stared at him suspiciously until he was no longer in view and then gave her undivided attention to her adoptive brother, who was doing his best not to seem nervous. "Charles?"

"Come inside and shut the door, love. I need to talk to you in private."


End file.
